> Source: https://builder.ema.ai/v2/introduction/glossary
> Title: Glossary

# Glossary

A unified, alphabetical reference for the terms used throughout this documentation. Where a term has a full reference page, it's linked.

## A

-   **Agent** — An LLM-driven reasoning step that an `agent` node runs. You configure an agent by choosing its type, writing its [Instructions](#instructions), and wiring its inputs, knowledge bases, and Tools. See [Agent reference](/builder/v2/agent-reference).
-   **Agent type** — The kind of work an agent does. Built-in types are `search_respond`, `intent_classification`, `extraction`, `rule_validation`, and `respond`; the platform also supports `code_execution` agents and custom agents.
-   **AI Employee (AIE)** — The unit of automation you build, test, publish, and run. It bundles a [workflow](#workflow) with an interface, knowledge bases, Tools, and access controls. See [What Is Ema?](/builder/v2/introduction/what-is-ema)
-   **AI Employee builder** — The visual workspace where you assemble and configure an AI Employee's workflow.
-   **Audit trail** — The chronological record of actions and changes across the workspace, used for compliance and review. Surfaced under Governance. See [Administration](/builder/v2/administration).
-   **Autopilot** — Ema's in-app assistant. Describe what you want in plain language and Autopilot builds and edits the workflow, agents, knowledge bases, and Tools for you. See [Autopilot](/builder/v2/autopilot).

## C

-   **Citation** — A reference to the source passage an agent used to ground an answer. Returned by `search_respond` agents and surfaced in the UI.
-   **`code_execution` agent** — An agent type that runs your JavaScript or TypeScript in a sandbox, for logic better expressed in code than in Instructions.
-   **Condition (edge)** — A test attached to an edge. When the source node completes, the engine evaluates each outgoing edge's condition and follows only the edges whose condition is true. This is how a workflow branches — there is no separate "conditional" node. See [Conditions and Expressions](/builder/v2/core-concepts/conditions-and-expressions).
-   **Custom agent** — A purpose-built agent dispatched to a dedicated execution service, for work outside the built-in agent types.

## D

-   **DAG (directed acyclic graph)** — The structure of a workflow: nodes connected by edges, with no cycles. Because it never loops back on itself, every run has a well-defined path the engine validates before execution.

## E

-   **Edge** — A connection between two workflow nodes that defines execution order and how data flows downstream.
-   **EmaFusion™** — Ema's model layer. Every LLM call flows through it; it selects an appropriate model per request across multiple providers, tracks token usage, and applies privacy controls at the model boundary. See [EmaFusion™](/builder/v2/emafusion).
-   **`end` node** — The node that terminates a workflow run.
-   **`extraction` agent** — An agent type that extracts structured data from source text, conforming to a JSON Schema you supply.

## F

-   **`feedback_router` agent** — An agent type (set on an `agent` node) that routes a run based on end-user feedback, used for re-work or escalation paths.
-   **Form (interaction type)** — An AI Employee interface driven by a defined set of inputs, suited to structured, repeatable runs.

## H

-   **Human-in-the-loop (HITL)** — A capability that pauses a workflow to bring in a person — to answer a question, approve a step, or fill a form — then resumes. Enabled on an `agent` node (there is no separate node type). See [Human-in-the-loop](/builder/v2/core-concepts/human-in-the-loop).

## I

-   **Instructions** — The plain-language system guidance you give an agent to shape its behavior. (Not called "prompts.")
-   **Integration** — A connection between your tenant and an external application. Once installed, it exposes [Tools](#tools). See [Integrations and data](/builder/v2/integrations-data).
-   **`intent_classification` agent** — An agent type that classifies input text into one of a set of intents you define; the label is commonly used in edge conditions to branch the workflow.
-   **Interaction type** — How an AI Employee is surfaced to users: `chat`, `form`, or `voice`. Chosen when the AI Employee is created.

## K

-   **Knowledge base** — A collection of documents and synced data sources that an AI Employee retrieves from. Content is chunked and embedded so agents can find and cite relevant passages. See [Knowledge bases](/builder/v2/core-concepts/knowledge-bases).

## N

-   **Node** — A single step in a workflow's DAG. Each node has a type: `start`, `agent`, `transform`, `publish`, or `end`. Branching and human-in-the-loop are not node types — they are configured on edges and on `agent` nodes respectively.

## P

-   **PII (personally identifiable information)** — Sensitive data (such as names, emails, and account numbers) that Ema detects and tokenizes before it leaves for a model or an external Tool. Governed per tenant. See [Administration](/builder/v2/administration).
-   **`publish` node** — A workflow node that emits a result: a final response, a record write-back, or a generated document.
-   **Publish (a workflow)** — To release a version of a workflow so it can run. Workflows are versioned and can be compared and reverted.

## R

-   **`respond` agent** — An agent type that generates a free-form natural-language reply from your Instructions, with no type-specific behavior added.
-   **Role** — A permission level that governs what an account can do. Common roles include `builder`, `builder_admin`, `user`, `user_admin`, and `system_admin`. See [Administration](/builder/v2/administration).
-   **`rule_validation` agent** — An agent type that evaluates documents and inputs against a list of rules and returns a per-rule verdict with cited evidence.
-   **Run** — A single execution of an AI Employee's workflow, from a `start` node to an `end` node. Runs stream their progress and can pause at an `agent` node that has human-in-the-loop enabled.

## S

-   **`search_respond` agent** — An agent type that searches knowledge bases and external Tools in a reasoning loop, then returns a synthesized, citable answer.
-   **SSO (single sign-on)** — Authentication through your organization's identity provider (SAML or OIDC). Configured by administrators. See [Administration](/builder/v2/administration).
-   **`start` node** — The entry point of a workflow; receives the run's inputs.

## T

-   **Template** — A pre-built AI Employee blueprint you can use as a starting point. See [Templates](/builder/v2/templates).
-   **Tool** — A discrete read or write operation an agent can call, exposed by an installed integration (for example "look up a customer" or "create a ticket"). (Not called "actions.")
-   **`transform` node** — A deterministic, non-LLM workflow node that extracts and coerces named fields from an upstream value using a list of rules. Never calls a model.

## V

-   **Version (workflow)** — A published snapshot of a workflow. You can compare versions and revert to an earlier one.
-   **Voice (interaction type)** — An AI Employee interface for phone and voice channels. Voice AI Employees run the same workflow with voice-specific configuration. _Beta._

## W

-   **Workflow** — The definition behind an AI Employee: a DAG of typed nodes that the workflow engine validates and runs. See [Workflows](/builder/v2/core-concepts/workflows).
-   **Workflow engine** — The component that validates a workflow's DAG and executes it node by node, streaming progress and pausing durably at human-in-the-loop checkpoints. (This is the engine Ema runs; older material may call it the "Generative Workflow Engine" or "GWE.")
-   **Workspace** — Your organization's tenant in Ema: the AI Employees, integrations, members, and settings that share one permission and policy context. Shown as **Workspace** in the Admin sidebar.